Got a 95% on the PCAT first try.

[axelz165]

If anyone has any questions about my study materials/study habits feel free to ask.

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[iheartdogs]

what did u use to study and what were ur study habits?

 

[cnne]

Congrat! Hey I'm still in chem 2 planning to take the pcat in september...any advise.

 

[Binchen222]

best study guide ever..... Dr Collin's!!!! and make sure you get all of those updates they have

 

[cnne]

Like the 2014 one out yet

 

[jpharm888]

I am selling my Dr. Collins Study Guide, please email me at [email protected]

 

[axelz165]

Sorry forgot to check back on this!

Firstly i bought Dr. Collins (100% get this. no questions regrets WHATSOEVER). This was my bible. My secondary book was Cracking the PCAT. I used this on any subject I felt that Dr.C didn't hit hard enough (all the words sections/ biology/ anatomy/ some more indepth orgo).

I set aside 2 months in the summer to study ~6-8 hours a day in our schools Law library (bone quiet.. lol).

 

[mdm227]

@axelz165 Buy any chance are you willing to sell your books and would like to share your study habit. You mentioned
you studied 6-8 hours a day. What i wanted to know is what was your routine like daily?

 

[cnne]

Good question mdm227.. I would love to know too

 

[Strategic Services]

Nice Axelz, got 95 on my first try too.

 

[DENDEN#88]

Nice Axelz, got 95 on my first try too.

did you use dr collins too? how did you prepare for it. could you give advice on what areas you think i shoulf focus on?

 

[Strategic Services]

did you use dr collins too? how did you prepare for it. could you give advice on what areas you think i shoulf focus on?

Nah, I used a Princeton Review book mainly, also had some of my cousins old books including a Kaplan book, some flashcards book, and a book full of practice tests. I took the road less traveled and put most of my focus into the Verbal section but that's because I generally do well in English. Got a 99 and a 98 on the verbal and reading respectively and I'm pretty sure that's what helped push my score up. I'd say focus first on understanding the methodology of the test then the material after you've got that down. Also be sure to take a run through the tutorial for the computer program you'll be taking the test on, it sounds simple but it'll save you some time if you familiarize yourself with how it functions.
As for the material I think that you should focus on whatever you're best with and excel with that. My chem and math skills are pretty bad but I surprised myself with some decent scores (64 and 88). Honestly a lot of that was "ballpark" guessing because there was no way I would ever have enough time to figure any of it out.
Whatever you choose to do though, you're going to have to practice. Get comfortable with running through the practice tests no matter how boring or pointless they may seem. If you're OCD like me, get used to skipping questions (if it looked like it took more than 10 seconds to read, I skipped it) and leaving yourself a bit of time to go back and guess (literally B'd like 8 quantitative questions I ran out of time for).
Good luck on the PCAT and don't let other people's scores intimidate you. Hope my perspective helps, if you want any specifics let me know.

 

[DENDEN#88]

Thanks for the feedback

 

[DENDEN#88]

What were some of the mains concepts that I should focus on based on the questions you did on the actual pcat ex. (verbal and quantitative)

 

[Strategic Services]

Apologies, my memory is a bit spotty and it's been a while since I took the PCAT so I can't really recall what they emphasized with complete clarity. Also I'm sure the test questions change regularly. The range of stuff is wide, but the prep books will give you a good idea of what you can expect. In general I think it's better to make sure you've got a strong grip of the basic/general stuff and whatever you're good at. If something's really difficult or obscure I wouldnt worry about it too hard.
What makes the verbal section hard is if you don't know your vocab, you'll be stuck. The idea of learning a thousand words before the test is insane, so while doing practice tests I kept a list of words I didn't recognize or couldnt define. I then narrowed it down to words that appeared frequently across multiple books or words that had roots that appeared to somewhat common. Learn roots instead of words, much less work.

 

[Battletoads]

Nah, I used a Princeton Review book mainly, also had some of my cousins old books including a Kaplan book, some flashcards book, and a book full of practice tests. I took the road less traveled and put most of my focus into the Verbal section but that's because I generally do well in English. Got a 99 and a 98 on the verbal and reading respectively and I'm pretty sure that's what helped push my score up. I'd say focus first on understanding the methodology of the test then the material after you've got that down. Also be sure to take a run through the tutorial for the computer program you'll be taking the test on, it sounds simple but it'll save you some time if you familiarize yourself with how it functions.
As for the material I think that you should focus on whatever you're best with and excel with that. My chem and math skills are pretty bad but I surprised myself with some decent scores (64 and 88). Honestly a lot of that was "ballpark" guessing because there was no way I would ever have enough time to figure any of it out.
Whatever you choose to do though, you're going to have to practice. Get comfortable with running through the practice tests no matter how boring or pointless they may seem. If you're OCD like me, get used to skipping questions (if it looked like it took more than 10 seconds to read, I skipped it) and leaving yourself a bit of time to go back and guess (literally B'd like 8 quantitative questions I ran out of time for).
Good luck on the PCAT and don't let other people's scores intimidate you. Hope my perspective helps, if you want any specifics let me know.

99 Comp Here. I used the PR, and it was probably a little over the top for what was needed on the pcat, just food for thought.

 

[almarie82]

99 Comp Here. I used the PR, and it was probably a little over the top for what was needed on the pcat, just food for thought.

You used prinston review book version 2011??? I'm looking for that book in amazon but with version 2014, don't found it. Those exist?

 

[almarie82]

What is better book for studying. ..kapplan 2014 or cracking princeton review???

If is Cracking pcat princeton review what date release book used??? I dont found a new one. Only see in amazon release date 2011.

 

[DENDEN#88]

Thanks much for the advice

 

[blueheron]

6-8 hours a day for 2 months?!?!?! Should have had 99s across the board. I did an hour a day for a month and got a 97. Only reason I didn't get a 99 is because I didn't have statistics or A/P (25% of the bio) yet.